INNOVATIONS IN THE COWPEA SECTOR OF NORTHERN NIGERIA:

RESEARCH INTO USE NIGERIA

Jokthan Grace, Ugbe Utiang, Sanni Adunni

INTRODUCTION:

Research into use (RIU) A follow up of UK – DFID 200m USD

investment on agriculture under RNRRS

Represents a shift in emphasis from generating new technologies to ensuring that existing ‘best bet’ research outputs are promoted and out scaled

Orchestrated the formation of multi-stakeholder Innovation Platform in 3 agricultural commodities

Cowpea/soybeans, Cassava and Aquaculture

RIU-Nigeria programme Intervenes through

Field level activities in each platform

Engagement with policy makers

Capacity development

Inter-linkages with other public sectors and development programmes that have interface or impact on target agricultural sectors

Pre-implementation tasks in the cowpea sector

A baseline study was conducted to: Characterize cowpea farmers in the project sites

(Fig 1) Examine farmers’ awareness and adoption levels

of cowpea innovations (Fig 2) Access farmer’s and traders level of involvement

in cowpea production, storage and marketing (Fig 3)

Identify the constraints and opportunities for increased cowpea production, storage and marketing

Profile of farmers involved in cowpea production

Fig 1: Socio-economic characteristics of farmers involved in cowpea production Fig 2: Farmers’ awareness and adoption levels of some cowpea innovations

Fig 3: Farmers’ involvement in cowpea storage and marketing

PICS-RIU COLLABORATION

In order to address a major challenge of cowpea storage

RIU- Nigeria brokered a multi-stakeholders collaboration with IITA in 2009 to contribute to the dissemination of Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) technology (Table 2)

Builds on PICS strategy

Table 2: Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders

Stakeholders

IITA

RIU

Federal Government Agency (NAFDAC, SON)

State level agencies – ADPs

Local Government Agencies

Resource persons

Bags’ producer and supplier

Community /religious leaders

Mass media ( TV, Radio)

Farmers’ /Marketer’s associations within the IP

Role in the collaboration

Overall coordination, training, technical backstopping and evaluation in Nig.

Coordination and funding activities in additional villages in some states

Receive information for possible policy Formulation

Extension services

Extension services

Training of extension agents

Produce and sell PICS bags

Broadcast PICS messages Reinforce message on health benefits

Relay PICS message

Relay PICS message

Perception of farmers about hermetic cowpea storage

before PICS interventionHauwa Mohammed is a small

scale bean cake (kosai) processor based in Kwalli, Gombe State. When she

volunteered to provide some cowpea for demonstration using PICS bag other women laughed at her saying her cowpea will be fed to chickens after the storage period as a result of high weevil infestation. They asserted that it is not possible to store cowpea in a bag without chemical.

After PICS interventionDuring the ‘open the bag’

ceremony six months later, they observed that the quality of the cowpea was retained after storage and that the quality was better than that of cowpea stored with chemical.

Hauwa made more profit from her business that season (2010) because she bought cowpea at harvest time when price was low, stored

in PICS bags and used it for her business throughout the year

Economic and health benefits of hermetic storage

Increase in income of farmers/traders by about 48% for cowpea stored within 4 – 6 months

5 – 10% additional increase in price for cowpea stored in triple bags

Less reported cases of human fatalities

Better viability of seeds especially when chemicals involving H2O are applied

Fig 4: Analysis of land area allocated to cowpea, estimated production and prices 2008 - 2010

Economic potential of the technology intervention in Nigeria

Dr. Oyebanji officer in charge of Nigerian Stored Product Research said “there are huge economic and business potential for large industries that manufacture hermetic technologies for cowpea storage in Nigeria”

The estimated total annual production of cowpea grains in 2009 was 2.44 million MT

Suppose one third of production is consumed without storing,

About 16.3 million bags (1.63 Million MT/100kg = 16.3 Million bags) will be needed annually to

meet market demand.

SUCCESSES OF THE INTERVENTION

Extension methodologyEffective in creating awareness and enhancing rapid and extensive adoption of the

technology among farmers

Multi-agency partnership Hastened spatial coverage, increased target beneficiaries and facilitated wider

adoption

Quality assurance Impromptu on the spot check (thickness and sealing) of the bags produced

Challenges in production and distribution of triple bags

There seems to be a disconnect in information between the producer and the end users

Inadequate number of vendors

The cost of bag (300.00 naira) is considered too high by most farmers and grain merchants. This appears to be the major reason for poor adoption by grain merchants

Low private sector drive -The company plays little role in advertising the product and relies to a large extent on IITA and the ADP to market it

Way forward

Identify major distributors in each senatorial district

Number of pieces in a bale should be reduced

The cost of the bags should be built into the selling price of the cowpea

Various bag sizes should be introduced

Advocate for policies to create enabling environment for private sector involvement and sustainability of the innovation

Collaborate with other related public agencies such as NAFDAC, SON, and CPC to enforce laws

Identify credible retail outlets and organise financial arrangement that will encourage new entry into the PICS value chain

Hermetic silo for large scale cowpea merchants

Agricultural innovations requires brokering role by neutral party that is trusted by all stakeholders (PICS & RIU) for effective up and out scaling

Addressing policy obstacles to adoption of innovations is challenging especially where reforms run counter to powerful vested interest ( chemical use in cowpea storage)

Due to public over investment in agriculture over a long period, it will take time and creativity for a neutral entity to broker meaningful, effective and sustainable roles for private sector participation even though there is a strong potential for it to happen (bag companies)

Conclusion

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